How to Make Paper Look Old

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Whether you’re looking to spruce up an art project or give a poem a better platform than printer paper, you might need to age a sheet of paper. While the internet has many aging methods for you to try, crumpling and spritzing is the top action to take. If this doesn’t give your paper the aged look you were hoping for, try the stain and bake method, use flame and heat, or bury the paper to give it that ancient, weathered look.

Crumple the paper. Take a sheet of paper in your hand and crumple it into a ball. The tighter the ball, the more creases your paper will have.[1]

2

Uncrumple the paper and spritz it with water, tea or coffee. After uncrumpling the sheet of paper, fill a squirt bottle with your chosen liquid. Then, squirt the paper until the spots you’re looking to shape and color are damp.

Note that the liquid you use will give the paper a different look. Water won’t color the paper, but will enable further alterations. Tea will give a slight brown color, while coffee will give the sheet a darker color.

3

Shape various types of damage into the paper. Now that it is damp, the paper will be easier to shape. Try tearing off edges, removing small circles with your fingernail, or creating tiny wrinkles[2]. This damage simulates the passage of time; the older you want the sheet of paper to look, the more damage you need to include.

If you want to make darker, deeper creases, crumple the damp paper again. Be careful not to rip the page in half.

4

Lay out the paper to air dry. Place the paper on a flat surface, such as a countertop or table. The sheet should completely dry in a few hours.

Choose and brew your solvent. To age your paper, you can choose to use coffee for a darker color or tea for a lighter color. You can also affect the color of your paper during the brewing process.[3]

If using coffee, you can darken or lighten the color by using more or less coffee grounds.

With tea, the resulting shade of your sheet of paper will be affected by how long you leave the tea in the water. A longer infusion will result in a darker shade, while a short infusion will make for a lighter shade.

Let your liquid cool before proceeding to the next step.

2

Place the paper on a baking or cookie sheet. Make sure the paper can fit inside the sheet easily, without going over the edges.

Preheat the oven to 200ºF (90ºC). By preheating your oven at this point, it should reach the desired temperature by the time the paper is ready to be baked.

4

Pour the solvent onto the baking sheet. Start pouring in a corner of the baking sheet, not directly over the paper. Only pour enough liquid to cover the sheet of paper with a thin film. Don’t be concerned about solvent ending up beneath the paper; it will soak up the liquid beneath it.

5

Use a sponge brush to spread the coffee/tea around. Here you can be creative with the patterns you create. You can spread the solvent evenly around the sheet if you want a more uniform look. Otherwise, you can spread it unevenly to create more vivid, obvious patterns.[4]

If you’d like to create a more vivid, spotty pattern, you can sprinkle coffee grounds on the paper, letting them stand for a few minutes.

6

Dab excess liquid with a paper towel. Make sure there are no pools of liquid left either on the paper or in the baking sheet. You’re not trying to get the paper completely dry, just making sure there is no unabsorbed liquid sitting on the sheet.

7

Modify the paper. Before you put the baking sheet and paper in the oven, you can add a few touches to make the paper seem even older while it's damp and easy to manipulate. Tear a thin, jagged strip off the side. Or, dig small holes out of the paper with your fingernail; you can crumple these tiny wads and move them to other parts of the paper for a bumpy, parchment-like look. Additionally, you can press down on the paper with something like a fork to leave imprints.

Place the baking sheet in the oven for four to seven minutes. Ideally, you’ll want to put the sheet on a middle oven rack. Keep an eye on the paper as it bakes. You’ll know the process is complete once the edges start to curl up. The time it takes for this to happen depends on your oven.

9

Remove the paper and allow it to cool. Using oven mitts, remove the baking sheet from the oven. Give the paper 10 to 15 minutes to cool down before you attempt to write on it.

Take a sheet of paper over a sink. This is important in case you accidentally light the paper on fire; you can just drop it into the sink and douse it in water. For this particular method you should write on the paper after the aging process, to avoid losing some of your work with excessive burning.[5]

Find a candle or lighter. There is no difference in the effectiveness of each source of fire. Simply use whatever is available to you. Avoid using a butane lighter as the flame is too intense for this type of work.

3

Run the flame along the paper’s edges. Hold the edges of the paper between 1/2 inch (1cm) and 1 inch (2.5cm) above the flame. Move the flame along the edges, going back and forth along the sheet’s perimeter. This will create the darkened look of paper that's been around for a very long time and been damaged by time and circumstance. Do not put it too long on one place by the candle.[6]

Don’t let the flame linger on any one spot too long; this could set the whole sheet of paper on fire.[7]

As you move the flame long the paper’s edges, make sure you’re moving away from your hand to avoid potential burns.

4

Burn small spots into the paper. If you want to further damage your sheet of paper, you can burn little holes into it. Again, put the paper around an inch above the flame, this time letting it linger. Pay attention to this spot as it browns and blackens. Once it’s reached the desired color, remove it from the flame.

If you want to burn holes into your sheet of paper, leave it above the flame slightly longer. The heat will eventually burn through, and a small flame will catch. Be quick to blow it out.

If the paper catches fire quicker than you can blow it out, drop it in the sink and douse it in water.

Dig a hole in your backyard. You want this hole just deep enough to fit a tennis ball. No need to damage your yard unnecessarily.[8]

2

Crumple the paper into a ball and place it inside the hole. Sprinkle the ball of paper with a bit of water; no more than a quarter of a cup. You can rub some dirt onto the paper before you do this; the mud will dirty and smudge the sheet.

3

Fill the hole with dirt. Make sure the paper is completely covered. The dirt will damage and wear out the paper over time, so you’ll need to ensure a snug fit.

4

Retrieve the paper after three to fourteen days. The amount of time you wait depends on how old you want the paper to look.

Yes, use leftover coffee that would otherwise be going to waste, such as from a coffee machine. Pour it into a bowl and use it to paint the paper. Then put it in the toaster oven (don't put it directly on the rack because then lines will appear on the paper) and basically cook it until you see the edges start curling. If you'd like it to be even darker, just paint another couple of layers of coffee onto it. It doesn't take very much coffee, maybe 1/2 - 1 fl. ounces, to cover two pieces of paper.

Will I be able to smell the tea or coffee on the paper and will it dissolve any printing on the paper?

wikiHow Contributor

Community Answer

There will be no smell if you oven bake it for long enough. All aromatic compounds are volatile, especially the stronger scent ones which works in our favor. However I do not know what effect baking paper(without combustion) for extended periods would look like as it would depend on how the paper was made etc. I do think highly fibrous paper would work best

Coffee turns the paper brown. For yellow, I recommend taking a cup of water and mixing brown and yellow paint into it. Brush this solution onto the paper using a paint brush. Let it dry. This will probably have a better "yellowing" effect than using coffee.

If you use coffee to make the paper look old, add a few glasses of red wine to the coffee. Because the substance is different, the coffee will be on the large spaces while the wine will be in the "little wrinkles". This gives a very old effect.

About This Article

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wikiHow Video Team

This article was co-authored by our trained team of editors and researchers who validated it for accuracy and comprehensiveness. Together, they cited information from 8 references. wikiHow's Content Management Team carefully monitors the work from our editorial staff to ensure that each article meets our high standards.

To make a new sheet of paper look old, crumple it into a tight ball. Smooth it out and use a squirt bottle or your fingers to spritz the paper with tea or water until it’s slightly damp. Tear off the edges, remove small circles with your fingernails, and pinch small sections to make the paper look rough and old. Lay it out to air dry, or blow it with a hair dryer until it’s crisp and ready for use! Depending on the effect you’re trying to achieve, you may also want to stain the paper with tea and bake it in the oven, use heat to darken and yellow the paper, or bury it for a while.

Reader Success Stories

OA

Oa Aj

Dec 16, 2016

"I really like wikiHow, it can help you with almost anything. This article was really good, I didn't think there were ways to make your paper look old. I am writing an English thing, and it's supposed to be a letter from the war, so I wanted it to look old. I thought I would have to put mud or dirt on it!"..." more

SM

Sarah McCartney

Feb 2, 2017

"There were many options to choose from to get desired results. I like the clear explanations and warnings of what not to do. It was very useful. Most of these worked out for me. I'm not sure about the rest of these options since I have not tried them."..." more

TT

T. Turkleton

May 29, 2017

"I crinkled the paper, burned the edges, then I used regular tea along with two extra tea bags to spray it with. It came out a nice brown, a bit lighter than golden. It really looks like an old manuscript. Great methods that work very well!"..." more

A

Anonymous

May 18, 2018

"I used the staining method with green tea. It worked buts I want a yellow color so Im going to add Yellow diluted paint to it. I used it for history class for a Silk Road journal entry project. This site helps me so much! Thanks."..." more

Rated this article:

KD

Kaden Donahu

May 10, 2017

"The staining and baking makes the paper that old sepia color that most people think of when they want old paper. This, combined with the burning of the paper, makes it look like the paper has been saved from a fire."..." more

A

Anonymous

May 18, 2018

"Yeah, I have a minute. Thanks for teaching me how to age paper. My history class is writing journal entries for the Silk Road and since that was thousands of years ago, we need to have yellowed out paper."..." more

ML

Maddie Long

May 11, 2017

"Burning the outside of the paper really makes it look like it has been through some rough times or is very old. That is what I wanted and got, so very pleased. Would recommend this website to others."..." more

SA

Sam Anderson

Dec 13, 2016

"I am doing a colonial fair at my school, and I wanted the paper I was going to use look old and such, and this is exactly what I was looking for!"..." more

SO

Shanikua O.

Oct 22, 2017

"This article helped me because I needed to do my homework, and I needed to make my paper look old because we are doing Egyptian things."..." more

Rated this article:

BB

Bob Bernstein

Mar 2, 2017

"It works very well. What you can also do is when that is done, take a lighter and run it along the edges to make it look even older."..." more

RB

Robin Bhalakia

May 5, 2016

"Great tips. I wanted to give my paintings a rustic look. These were great tips to achieve the desired result. Thanks."..." more

HC

Haylee Collins

Apr 30, 2017

"I have a huge project and needed to stain a piece of paper. This helped me to give me directions to stain my paper. "..." more

Rated this article:

KH

Kayla Hall

Nov 3, 2016

"I needed to make a history project look like it was made in 1824. This was very helpful."

VS

Vijay Singh

Jul 25, 2017

"I have made a diary with using this method and now my friends think that it's very old."

Rated this article:

RK

Rhea Kapoor

Mar 9, 2017

"I have to use this for a social studies project. Knowing this is worth half my grade!"

TT

Tilly Tappenden

Mar 19, 2018

"These are very good methods but I used a paint brush so that it didn't get all soggy!"

JR

Jenny Reyes

Sep 6, 2017

"When you said to burn it. I tried and it made my paper look so cool for history."

A

Anonymous

Oct 4, 2017

"Great and easy ways to make the paper look old and weathered. Anyone can do it!"

JX

Jacky Xie

Apr 11, 2016

"Putting it in a toaster works on plain copy paper. The hair dryer was good too."

DM

Dee Marty

May 24, 2017

"I needed to make my essay look old and this was super simple and easy to do."

Rated this article:

A

Anonymous

Apr 28, 2017

"The tips were very helpful, and my paper came out successful, thanks!"

LS

Lindsay Sylvester

Nov 29, 2017

"This article helped me because I was given many ways to do this task!"